Author: LoveWorld UK

Saudi Aramco 2222.SE this year extended the maturity of two revolving credit facilities it took in 2015, meaning those loans worth a total of $8 billion (6.05 billion pounds) will be available through March 2022, a bond prospectus showed. Aramco said on Monday it plans to issue multi-tranche U.S. dollar-denominated bonds, as the world’s largest oil company seeks to raise cash amid weak global oil demand and lower oil prices. The prospectus showed that in June this year the oil giant amended certain agreements regarding one of the two revolving loans, a $6 billion conventional credit facility, to incorporate a $2 billion…

Britain and the European Union have a week to 10 days to find a way to unlock trade talks, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Monday, after both sides called on the other to move their position on two of the most troublesome areas. The trade talks resume on Monday in Brussels after there was little movement on the most contentious areas — so-called “level playing field” fair competition rules and fisheries –last week when the two sides missed the latest mid-November deadline. The United Kingdom left the EU in January but the sides are struggling to clinch a…

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was perfectly well after coming into contact with someone with COVID-19 and will drive the government forward via Zoom while he self-isolates for two weeks in Downing Street. Johnson’s latest brush with COVID comes after a tumultuous week in which his most senior adviser, arch Brexiteer Dominic Cummings, was ousted after clashing with a rival faction led by his fiancée and his new spokeswoman. From a flat above Downing Street, Johnson will have to grapple with Europe’s deadliest COVID-19 outbreak and master the delicate diplomacy needed to clinch a last-minute Brexit trade agreement within…

A group led by privacy activist Max Schrems on Monday filed complaints with German and Spanish data protection authorities over Apple’s AAPL.O online tracking tool, alleging that it allows iPhones to store users’ data without their consent in breach of European law. It is the first such major action against the U.S. technology group in regards to European Union privacy rules. Apple did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The Californian tech giant says it provides users with a superior level of privacy protection. The company had announced it would further tighten its rules with the launch of its iOS…

The cost of British finance minister Rishi Sunak’s decision to extend his COVID furlough programme until March should be “quite a bit lower” than the roughly 40 billion pounds spent so far, a Treasury official told lawmakers on Thursday. Asked about a possible further 40 billion-pound cost, Beth Russell, director-general for tax and welfare at the Treasury, said the number of claims were likely to be lower than earlier in 2020. “We wouldn’t expect it to be as high as that. Given the restrictions in the spring, and the restrictions that we are now expecting for the next few months,…

England manager Gareth Southgate said he could hand Borussia Dortmund teenager Jude Bellingham his first cap when they host Ireland on Thursday, making him the third-youngest player to represent the country. The 17-year-old midfielder was called up after James Ward-Prowse and Trent Alexander-Arnold withdrew due to injury. Only former skipper Wayne Rooney and Theo Walcott were younger than Bellingham when they made their England debut. “If we can get him on the pitch and he gets some match minutes as well, that will be a bonus,” Southgate told a news conference on Wednesday. “My initial conversation with him was that…

Japan’s Nissan Motor Co Ltd 7201.T on Thursday cut its forecast for an annual operating loss by 28%, albeit to a still-whopping $3.2 billion, helped by restructuring efforts and better-than-expected sales. In a reversal from the aggressive expansion pursued by ousted Chairman Carlos Ghosn, Nissan is reducing production and its vehicle line-up by a fifth, and slashing costs by 300 billion yen in three years to improve profits. Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta also told a briefing that Nissan will move to online sales globally – in a sign of the depth of its restructuring drive and the impact of the pandemic.…

The boom in Britain’s housing market carried on into October as a gauge of house price growth struck a new 21-year high, but next year looks set to be much quieter, a survey showed on Thursday. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said its house price index rose unexpectedly to +68 from +62 in September, the highest reading since September 1999. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a reading of +55. The survey, based on responses of surveyors across the United Kingdom, showed little sign of a let-up in a surge in housing market activity since the…

British engineering company Rolls-Royce RR.L said shareholders signed up for 94% of new shares it issued as part of a 2 billion pound ($2.64 billion) rights issue aimed at bolstering its pandemic-hit finances. Airlines pay Rolls based on how many hours its engines fly and as such, the company’s finances have come under increasing pressure after COVID-19 stopped travel earlier this year. The equity raise unlocks new debt options including 2 billion pounds from a bond issued in October and a bank loan worth 1 billion pounds, as part of a total 5 billion pound liquidity package for the company. While the…

Georgia will re-count all paper ballots cast in the Nov. 3 presidential election by hand, the state’s top election official said on Wednesday, a mammoth task that must be completed by Nov. 20. Democrat Joe Biden secured more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to gain the presidency on Saturday by winning Pennsylvania after four tense days of counting, delayed by a surge in mail-in ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic. Adding Georgia would only add to Biden’s margin of victory. Republican President Donald Trump has refused to concede defeat and has said – without citing evidence – that…